Border Management Authority (BMA) Commissioner Dr Micheal Masiapato has unveiled an expanded Festive Season Operational Plan that will see the deployment of advanced surveillance technology and strengthened regional coordination to manage the holiday travel surge.
Briefing the media in Pretoria last week, Masiapato said the four-phase plan — covering planning, execution, demobilisation and sustenance — is designed to ensure smoother traveller processing and tighter border security during one of the busiest periods of the year.
He said the planning phase, which began on 15 September and concludes on 9 December, has included extensive consultations with public and private sector stakeholders, resulting in critical partnerships.
Among these new partnerships are agreements with the South African Freight Forwarders Association, the Association of Meat Importers and Exporters, and the South African Association of Ship Operators and Agents, which will help fund some BMA operations through a cost-recovery model.
Technology companies such as DCD Protected Mobility, Aselsan South Africa and Unipro Protective Wear will assist in rolling out a suite of surveillance and protective tools.
“Drones and body cams will be fully operational to improve our detection capability and also address possible corruption from our team members,” Masiapato said.
To ease congestion at key ports, the BMA has also partnered with TRAC and SANRAL to strengthen traffic flow management at the busy Lebombo port of entry.
Masiapato added that the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure will again provide temporary infrastructure — including lighting, ablution facilities, barricades and Jojo tanks — across ports and corridors.
Additional ICT technicians will be deployed to support the movement control system, with further remote assistance from the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and the Department of Home Affairs.
Masiapato said South Africa had also held discussions with neighbouring countries — Lesotho, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, eSwatini and Botswana — to streamline cross-border operations.
“As a result, we have agreed to adjust operating hours at some of the key ports which do not operate on a 24-hour basis,” he said.
The execution phase will run from 10 December 2025 to 15 January 2026, split into a departure period (10 – 31 December) and a return period (1 – 15 January).
During this phase, enforcement measures will be tightened.
“We will be intensifying our measures to detect and seize narcotics, illicit goods, and even stolen vehicles. We want to warn all travellers to desist from committing any act of criminality around the ports or even in the border law enforcement areas as they will be detected and arrested,” Masiapato said.
Demobilisation will take place on 16 January, when ports that had extended operating hours revert to normal schedules.
Masiapato said South Africa is facing one of its busiest travel periods in recent years, with traveller movements increasing sharply and enforcement operations yielding thousands of interceptions. He said BMA immigration officers processed 9 283 658 travellers in the second quarter of the current financial year — a 23% jump from the 7 576 650 movements recorded in the same period last year.
During the second quarter of this financial year, 8 135 apprehensions were recorded across ports of entry and vulnerable segments: 4 092 undocumented individuals, 2 061 inadmissible travellers, and 1 982 undesirables.
“The majority of the intercepted foreign nationals were Basotho, followed by Mozambicans, Zimbabweans and Swati nationals, reflecting a consistent long-standing migration pattern within the sub-region,” Masiapato said.
Masiapato added that since the Border Guards were first deployed in July 2022, officers have stopped about 505 065 individuals from entering the country illegally.
Interceptions during the quarter also included 15 suspected stolen vehicles, believed to have been targeted by criminal syndicates for smuggling out of South Africa. The South African Police Service (SAPS) has taken over further processing.
“The incremental figure stands at about 349 vehicles since the deployment of the first contingent in July 2022,” Masiapato said.
BMA officers also seized 1 700 kg of counterfeit clothing and footwear valued at R1.28 million, bringing the cumulative value of counterfeit goods intercepted since July 2022 to about R220 million.
Additional seizures included half a kilogram of crystal meth, 240 grams of heroin, illicit cigarettes valued at R827 500, and 40 fraudulent travel documents confiscated mainly at OR Tambo International Airport (ORTIA), Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) and Vioolsdrift.
Port health operations screened 172 858 travellers, with 73 refused entry for failing to present valid yellow fever vaccination certificates. Officials processed 997 mortal remains — 964 exports and 33 imports — and returned 25 due to incomplete documentation.
Masiapato said port health teams also handled 43 729 health-related consignments, while intercepting and destroying 5 000 units of illicit birth control pills and 117 medical test kits, including skin lightening creams.
“In this regard, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has warned that many of these products contain harmful and illegal ingredients, including high concentrations of mercury, hydroquinone and tropical steroids, which pose serious health risks,” he said.
Health teams tested 969 travellers for malaria, confirming 57 positive cases, who were transferred to medical facilities. In the agricultural stream, 39 316 consignments were processed.
Boosting port security
Masiapato also announced a key operational development. The BMA, in partnership with Transnet National Ports Authority, has secured permanent operational space for Coastal Guards at the ports of Mossel Bay, Gqeberha, Richards Bay and East London.
“This is a critical development towards establishing BMA’s full-time presence in these important seaports,” he said.
